When BYD shot to prominence on the top of Covid-19 in 2020 for being one of many world’s largest producer of masks – a feat they achieved in only one brief month – they did so with grit and a eager pulse in the marketplace.
The slog and zeal is not one thing the Shenzhen-based carmaker shies away from. You and I in all probability laughed at their bizarre copycat vehicles of a decade in the past; at the moment they’re one of many, if not the world’s largest producer of electrical autos.
A big slice of that comes from the small automotive class, and the BYD Atto 3 has been invaluable, wrestling gross sales and awards from ‘legacy’ manufacturers in tons of of nations worldwide.
Clearly they’re doing one thing right, and in Malaysia’s melting pot EV market – have they got the appropriate recipe to strike it huge?
| BYD Atto 3 Prolonged EV Specs in Malaysia | |
|---|---|
| Value | RM 167,800 |
| Powertrain | Single-motor FWD |
| Battery Capability | 60.48 kWh |
| Charging | 6.6 kW AC, 80 kW DC |
| Energy & Torque | 204 PS / 310 Nm |
| 0-100 km/h | 7.3 seconds, as examined |
| Origin | CBU, China |
Design: Cool, if slightly nameless
Not each EV has to appear like one thing off The Jetsons and that is fully OK. All of it depends upon what roles they play, and because the Atto 3 is BYD’s first actually international mannequin, sustaining an easily-likeable look is a brilliant transfer.
In spite of everything, the person who penned it, Wolfgang Egger, is aware of a factor or two about design. He used to ply his commerce at Alfa Romeo, developing with the 159, 147, and the 8C Competizione, and when’s the final time you have heard somebody complain about how an Alfa seems to be?
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Credit score the place its due, BYD hasn’t bought him to refer an excessive amount of to his previous catalogue (not like a sure Chinese language EV model with Porsches), so the Atto 3 has bought sufficient of its personal id.
Cue gentle traces, lightbars up back and front, and match it to a modernised-yet-conventional SUV profile, it makes for wanting little automotive that individuals will at the very least give a second look.
Additionally, notice that it is bought standard door handles. Good for many who do not belief the reliability of electrical door handles post-crash.
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The Atto 3 measures between a Proton X50 and X70, and judging distances in a single is nearer to the latter than a bigger automotive. The slim physique and brief overhangs make it a metropolis slicker; plus the electrical seats and tilt-and-telescopic adjustable steering wheel permits nearly anybody to get comfy behind the tiller.
Inside: Funky however we relatively they work on the fundamentals first
It appears to be a pattern that Chinese language vehicles are inclined to overdo one half or the opposite, and the little bit of overkill with the Atto 3 is its cabin. We get the impression that BYD tried a bit too onerous combining concepts for it, relatively than maintaining to a spotlight.
Undeniably, that ends in a correctly funky inside. From the flowy traces to the…(strummable!) guitar strings gating the cubby area by the doorways, it’s going to go away a pleasant teal-on-white imprint in your thoughts that’ll make it onerous to return to the humdrum black interiors in a majority of ICE SUVs.
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We can’t use that reasoning to justify the squirrelling of the air-cond controls into the display screen nonetheless. Some issues are greatest left to tactile buttons and knobs, just because they’re simpler to make use of. Adjusting the fan velocity and temperatures ought to by no means be a multi-menu affair but right here we’re.
At the very least whenever you do have to make use of the 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen, it is a breeze. Swish about it nonetheless you want and the slick pill will not miss a step. About that rotating mechanism although…
Err…little greater than a gimmick, we are saying. In our time with it, we discovered leaving it in panorama mode is best for nearly all the pieces anyway, and we reckon you’d discover the identical. To not point out the larger downside: portrait mode blocks a good portion of the driving force’s view too.
Very similar to the ambient lighting. You possibly can customise it, and if you would like you’ll be able to even make it ape your nearest disco! Disgrace we do not get the non-obligatory karaoke mic accent right here, in any other case we’ll run Ok-bars out of enterprise.
Digressions apart the display screen itself is a pleasure to make use of. Navigating the submenus are easy sufficient; if at instances hamstrung by bizarre mistranslations – unsure what you imply by heat tip there, however no thanks…
On that entrance although, we hope future updates will patch issues over, as they’ve earlier than (a previous model of the software program seen on the automotive’s launch misspelled descent as respectable, no such errors are in our check unit). What’s extra, new options are available in them – Android Auto is confirmed to look OTA, in order that’s good.
Wi-fi Apple CarPlay comes as customary, and pleasure of joys, makes use of your entire display screen with crisp decision.
For all of the maxi that is the infotainment display screen, the instrument cluster is not any larger than your telephone. Undecided what the rationale is behind this, as it’s it seems to be prefer it simply belongs on a motorbike, and consequently it is onerous to learn as a result of there’s a lot occurring at anyone time.
One other constructive we might like level out is the additional mile BYD went to maneuver the sign stalk to the appropriate. A number of carmakers who predominantly promote vehicles in left-hand drive markets often do not go this far, and we admire this consideration to native wants.
In abstract, when you realise that the transient is aesthetics over all-out utility, then maybe you may perceive the inside higher.
Take cubby areas for example – the Atto 3 is not providing you with a great deal of them, with small cupholder and medium-size areas alongside the centre console – so being inventive along with your unfastened gadgets is a ability to grasp.
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House and practicality: Spacious cabin
What’s not a gimmick is the area the BYD Atto 3 gives. Possibly it’s going to come to no shock, however know that it brushes the Hyundai Kona Electrical – which sits squarely within the Atto 3’s worth area – apart with regards to seating.
The shortage of a brilliant sloping roof means there’s one tennis ball’s value of headroom. Legroom is three tennis balls’ value. Fairly spacious, however how occupants sit on the again is one other job nicely completed right here.
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In a number of BEVs, sitting on the again is uncomfortable as a result of the floor-mounted battery ‘pushes’ your knees upwards, leading to a considerably squat-like place.
That is not an issue in any respect within the Atto 3. Your legs can lie comfortably flat, and as a bonus it is potential to stretch all of them the way in which beneath the entrance seats as nicely. Superior.
Plus, the inclusion of an expansive sunroof additionally helps to make the cabin airier, if that is your jive.
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Boot quantity is a heady 440 litres; bigger than the X50 and HR-V, and equalling the Corolla Cross. Flatten the rear seats and you’ve got 1,340 litres. Loading top and boot aperture are pleasant to most heavy gadgets.
If you happen to intend to make an Atto 3 one for the household, relaxation assured it excels within the area and practicality division.
Driving and luxury: Numb drive, comfy although
Searing acceleration? Yup. Silent? For probably the most half. Experience and dealing with? Not unhealthy.
Most likely the identical abstract you have examine with different EVs, however that is the reality, the Atto 3 is not something particular. Its mission, which it accomplishes, is not to present you a drive to hoo-ha about; it is right here is to take you from one level to a different as gently as it could actually.
Figures for you right here: front-mounted (FWD) electrical motor with 204 PS/310 Nm, and a examined 0-100 km/h time of 7.3 seconds. Greater than sufficient for the job order, with the standard instantaneous burst of acceleration supplying sufficient shove to outfox petrol vehicles and pip them by means of visitors.
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On the flipside, weak brake regeneration hampers the driving expertise. By no means thoughts single-pedal driving (which, disappointingly, it omits), a stronger regen tune than as it’s now – borderline indescernible even on ‘Excessive’ – could be higher appreciated, if solely to not waste all that vitality we aren’t recapturing.
Positives are extra obvious within the trip high quality. For one, it is nice that an SUV that carries a 60.48 kWh battery on the ground could be this nice to sit down in.
An enormous a part of the supple trip is the well-tuned multi-link suspension, and we’ll give BYD’s bespoke electrical platform some credit score too. A lot of the highway ruts and irregularities you come throughout day by day are properly silkened, isolating occupants from the jolts and shocks growth joints and cats’ eyes may usually trigger.
Good factor is that lengthy haul drives really feel stable and well-planted, however do not count on it to be whisper-quiet. The silence will likely be damaged by relatively distracting ‘whoosh’ noises centring by the aspect mirrors.
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However know that its 1,750 kg kerb weight and obscure electrical steering inhibits any type of sporting efficiency. The Atto 3 makes it clear it doesn’t like fast course adjustments, as you’ll really feel the automotive sloshing about as you pitch it into noodly switchbacks.
This owes so much to the automotive’s atrocious tyres too. These Atlas Batman (ugh) A51s simply aren’t as much as the duty of dealing with the Atto 3’s prompt torque and weight; there is a worrying quantity of wheelspin whenever you step on the accelerator urgently, and it squeals on the slightest present of strain.
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It is a disgrace that one thing this straightforward is handicapping the in any other case well-sorted automotive. It is a difficulty that may be simply addressed by potential house owners (and you must), nevertheless it’d be higher if it is taken care of by the distributors themselves…
ADAS: Nervous in visitors
We like that BYD’s DiPilot suite of superior driver aids (ADAS) has a bunch of options, however for those who have been pampered by Honda Sensing and Toyota Security Sense, then err…do not count on the identical high quality. It is a blended bag of some good factors, whereas some are unhealthy.
Full marks goes to the cameras. We would as nicely have simply shot our TikTok movies on this as a result of the standard in each low- and clear lighting are stellar. It is 360-degrees too, and for those who so select you’ll be able to have it flip the aspect cameras on as you point out.
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And, this aspect of a million-Ringgit Land Rover, we’ve not seen a automotive that gives a clear view of the terrain under. Not that you simply’d use the Atto 3 for overlanding nevertheless it’s a pleasant contact.
The unhealthy is the calibration of the adaptive cruise management, and ancilliaries just like the blind spot monitor. It is hyperactive and jumpy; it goes bonkers when bikes whizz beside you throughout a visitors jam.
This occurs as a result of it senses that these autos are ‘imminently colliding’ with you. What occurs then, as I discovered throughout a type of morning Jalan Kuching crawls, is that each few seconds a warning will present on the speedometer. Then the hazards will flash. Which brings a clicky noise each few seconds. Annoying.
Vitality consumption: 18.9 kWh/100 km
For our vitality consumption check, we took the Atto 3 on a 240 km route, blended between highways and town. In that journey, it used up 66% of the battery, and the onboard laptop learn that there was 163 km of vary left.
Topping it as much as full wanted 45.3 kWh over an hour. This interprets to an vitality effectivity determine of 18.9 kWh/100 km.
Facet notice: the Atto 3 Prolonged helps as much as 7 kW AC (Kind 2) charging, and as much as 80 kW DC (CCS2) charging. It is also the first EV under RM 200k to assist vehicle-to-load (V2L); sufficient to energy small family gadgets or a makeshift glamping night time out.
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Aftersales and guarantee
BYD’s guarantee bundle is kind of complete, par for the course of a model out to construct belief in a brand new market. Here is what they provide:
- 6-year/150,000 km car guarantee
- 8-year/160,000 km battery guarantee
- 8-year/150,000 km guarantee for the drive unit (motor, motor controller, DC meeting, excessive voltage electrical management meeting)
Comparable is GWM’s five-year/150,000 km car guarantee and 8-year/180,000 km battery guarantee for the Ora Good Cat. Hyundai backs the Kona Electrical with a 8-year/160k km battery guarantee, however a lacklustre 2-year/50k km car guarantee.
Verdict: Nicely-studied mannequin, will earn its followers
It will possibly’t be denied that the BYD Atto 3 stays a comparatively costly proposition when in comparison with similarly-sized petrol SUVs. But it is in all probability probably the most full sub-RM 200k EV SUV you may get – and that is shove in the direction of worth parity.
Do not low cost the BYD Atto 3’s charms of presenting the customer with the ‘full EV expertise’. EV clients worth the futurisms – OTA updates, an encapsulating telephone app, and sure, even gimmicky issues like an NFC reader and a flippin’ display screen – and the Atto 3 satiates that itch.
Not many officially-distributed EVs, even some priced nicely above RM 250k, give you these.
And for potential clients not too caught up within the technobabble, you may nonetheless internet respectable area and luxury, truthful efficiency and vary, in addition to charging instances that are not rapid flip offs.
True, you may really feel about as a lot enjoyable piloting this as mashing buttons in your pantry’s microwave oven. However like its robust gross sales begin exhibits, the BYD Atto 3 presents a compelling choice to anybody who’d prefer to strive day by day driving an EV with out making too many compromises.
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